Paint rollers are popular tools for applying paint to large surface areas. Paint rollers typically include a handle, a shaft extending from the handle, and a roller rotatably coupled to the shaft. Although well-suited for applying paint to large expansive areas, such conventional rollers are not well-suited for applying paint to corners, to junctions between adjacent walls, along window trim, or along floor moldings, without smearing paint on the adjacent surface.
In recognition of such shortcomings, paint rollers have been provided with guards or shields mounted to an axial end of the roller. Examples of such paint rollers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,763,022; 3,623,180; 3,685,084; and 3,213,477. Although representing an advance in the art, such rollers are tedious and time consuming to use because repeated loading of the paint roller requires repeated detachment and attachment of the shield to and from the roller.
To facilitate loading of paint, alternative paint rollers have been developed in which the guard or shield may be pivoted away from the roller. Examples of such paint rollers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,204,276; 3,369,269; and 5,444,891. Although facilitating paint loading, such paint rollers have their associated drawbacks as well. For example, such shields or guards are typically supported by an arm which is difficult to grasp and manipulate positioning of the shield without the painter's hands becoming covered with paint. In addition, such rollers require that the roller and adjacent shield be pressed towards the surface being painted with a relatively large amount of force to apply paint as close as possible to the adjacent surface such as trim. As a result, the roller does not roll and frequently skids along the surface being painted. Moreover, such paint rollers are often fatiguing to use and aesthetically unattractive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,740 discloses a paint roller in which the roller pivots away from the guard. In addition to having the aforementioned problems, the applicator having a roller that rotates away from the shield frequently results in paint splattering.